Financial markets displayed a risk-on attitude early Monday in East Asia, buoyed by reports suggesting that the next round of Trump tariffs, set for April 2, could be more measured than initially anticipated.
Bitcoin (BTC), the largest digital asset by market value, experienced a positive uptick, trading at approximately $86,500—a 2.7% increase over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Solana’s SOL token rose nearly 6%, reaching $138, as reported by CoinDesk.
In addition, Payments-focused XRP climbed 2.5% to $2.44, successfully trading above its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) after two consecutive weeks of favorable price movements.
Futures contracts associated with the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq each rose over 0.5% on the day. Concurrently, Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX index, decreased by 2.5% to 18.88 points, while markets in China managed to reverse their earlier losses.
The optimistic sentiment in the market was influenced by media reports over the weekend indicating that President Donald Trump’s forthcoming “reciprocal tariffs” could be more selective than previously feared.
According to a Bloomberg report, certain countries may be exempt from the tariffs, and existing levies on steel and other metals may not be stacked cumulatively.
The tariffs have historically created turmoil in market sentiment, especially in February, leading to a decline in both stock and crypto markets. In that period, BTC fell nearly 17.6%, plunging to lows of under $80K—hitting record lows.
Looking ahead, investors will be keenly observing two significant indicators: Friday’s PCE reading, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation, and the March 27 Senate Banking Committee hearing featuring SEC nominee Paul Atkins and Comptroller of the Currency nominee Jonathan Gould.
